[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 72 (Monday, May 2, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2235-S2236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Madam President, on COVID, now, in addition to providing emergency 
funding to Ukraine, the Senate must also keep prioritizing another 
round of funds to fight COVID and keep our families safe.
  On Ukraine funding and COVID funding, Republican obstruction will not 
serve the American people. Instead of threatening political games, I 
urge Senate Republicans to work with us to get moving on COVID funding 
A-S-A-P.
  Over the past few months, the United States has made unmistakable 
progress in getting life closer to normal than at any other point since 
the spring of 2020. But as we all know, all it takes is another nasty 
variant to force new closures of our schools, our businesses, our 
churches, our communities.
  Meanwhile, every day that we don't act to pass new COVID funding is 
another day that other nations place orders on the remaining supply of 
vaccines, testing, and therapeutics--in particular, therapeutics.
  God forbid another variant begins spreading across the country, and 
we don't have the tools, the medicines, the vaccines, the testing in 
place to respond simply because our Republican friends have blocked our 
ability to fund now the ability to buy those materials, those vaccines, 
those therapeutics, and keep them on the ready if and when a new 
variant hits.
  If Republicans continue to obstruct more funding, then a few months 
from now we could be in the terrible situation of not having enough 
vaccines to save lives, enough tests or testing to monitor disease, and 
enough therapeutics to reduce the severity of cases of COVID when they 
come.
  Let me say that one more time. If Republicans continue to obstruct 
more funding now, then a few months from now, we could be in a terrible 
situation of not having vaccines to save lives,

[[Page S2236]]

testing to monitor the disease, and therapeutics to treat the disease.
  I don't want to have to read that back in someone's face 3 months 
later. I would rather have the funding now. That is what most Americans 
want. Please stop obstructing. We don't need to go down that path, as I 
said. By now, we have tools and know-how to prevent closures of schools 
and of stores and of everything else in case another variant makes its 
unwelcome arrival.
  Now what we need is the funding to actually purchase the tools. They 
have been developed by American ingenuity, American companies; but 
other countries are buying them because we, ridiculously, stupidly, are 
not funding them because of obstruction across the aisle--political 
objectives getting in the way of the help, vitality, and return to 
normal of the American people. So we need to fund these--we need to 
actually purchase these tools now so that we are ready.
  Republicans should work with Democrats to pass another COVID funding 
bill A-S-A-P. It is not really much harder than that.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.